1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to parsing electronic correspondence, and more particularly to a method and system of recognizing selected forms of electronic correspondence and automating extraction, organization, and display of parsed data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Presently, many computer users primarily employ Internet browser and mail editor applications for accessing the World Wide Web (WWW, or the Web) and for corresponding via electronic mail (e-mail). The typical browser serves as the means by which a user is enabled to navigate from site to site on the Web, and further serves as the interface through which the user is enabled to interact with those sites by accessing the information content and various services provided; the typical mail editor enables the user to engage in digital correspondence, i.e. sending and receiving e-mail.
The capabilities of browser and mail editor applications can vary greatly depending upon the type of terminal and the operating system used. For example, while versions of these types of applications installed at home computers or office workstations, which typically employ graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and large display monitors, may be capable of presenting the content of a particular Web site or the content of e-mail in rich text and high resolution graphics, the versions of the same applications which are typically installed on portable wireless devices may be much more restricted in terms of graphic resolution and display area.
During any given session of Internet exploration, sometimes known as “Web surfing,” a user may encounter one or more sites which require registration before the full capabilities of the site can be accessed. In fact, sites requiring registration are becoming more prevalent on a daily basis. Web sites engaged in electronic commerce (e-commerce), for example, typically require registration before purchases can be made or items can be placed up for auction by a particular user. As another example, Web sites which host e-mail services necessarily require registration in order to deliver incoming correspondence to the correct recipient.
As a practical matter, a registered user is burdened with the task of recording or remembering the registration information provided to various Web sites and mail servers. At a minimum, registration at any given Web or e-mail server involves providing a user name, or “login” name, and a password. This data is subsequently used by the server to identify the user each time the user logs in; conversely, access to a particular account will be denied or restricted if the proper account information is not entered at login.
In this general context, some systems have sought to make Internet transactions and interactions more convenient for users (see, e.g. the foregoing copending patent applications). Efforts are being directed toward automating registration and login procedures, establishing global (or Internet-wide) user identities, and creating universal e-mail addresses for users. Though successful with respect to simplifying various types of Internet transactions and thereby facilitating e-commerce, these systems have thus far failed to address a natural consequence of the increasing ease with which e-commerce may be conducted: an increase in e-commerce related e-mail correspondence, much of which may be in the form of electronic receipts (e-receipts).
For example, when a user places an order for the purchase of goods or services through electronic channels, the seller (“e-tailer”) or service provider generally supplies an e-receipt subsequent to receiving the order and payment authorization. These e-receipts, electronic correspondence delivered to an e-mail account or address designated by the user, typically include relevant information concerning the transaction: the purchaser's name, shipping and billing addresses, and credit card information; the appropriate product identification, quantity, and unit price; an identifying order reference number; the order date; the shipping status; and so forth.
Information concerning a particular order is usually available for a limited time at the e-commerce site which hosted the transaction. Ordinarily, a user must provide the correct user name, password, and order reference number information each time that user desires to access order information at the host site. In this regard, even accurate records are not useful if they are not readily accessible; when a user stores information conveniently near a home computer, for example, or retrieves electronic correspondence using a particular computer terminal, those records will not be of value when that user is attempting to access an account from a mobile or wireless apparatus or from a computer at another location, such as an office, a library, or a Web cafe. Presently, since even portable and wireless devices are Internet-capable, a user may access the Web or e-mail accounts from virtually any building having telephone service or from any location where cellular or satellite communications are possible. Unless such a user commits an unwieldy amount of user name, password, and other account-specific information to memory, or endeavors always to keep written notes within reach, careful record-keeping practices can ultimately prove of limited utility.
Users may want access to e-commerce order information for a number of reasons. For example, whereas one user may simply be interested in checking the status of an order to determine if and when purchased goods have been shipped, another user may wish to cross-reference e-commerce order data with bank account data available on-line to determine if and when a particular payment, in the correct amount, has cleared the user's bank account.
As a user's e-commerce activity increases, that user becomes increasingly burdened with having to remember or to record more information, related not simply to user names and passwords for registered accounts, but also to specific order numbers and payment authorizations. Since, as noted above, accessing individual registered accounts can be tedious, some users attempting to organize e-commerce data prefer to rely upon e-receipts and shipping updates forwarded to a specified e-mail address from e-commerce vendors and service providers.
While such reliance upon e-receipts and other correspondence can sometimes prove more convenient, to some degree, than repeatedly accessing the site which hosted the transaction, confusion may still prevail when various transactions are at different stages of completion, when a user wishes to access information from more than one computer terminal or wireless device, or when different correspondence is directed to different e-mail accounts. Logistically, keeping track of e-commerce activity through careful monitoring and organizing of incoming e-receipts can be just as difficult as tracking the status of on-line orders through independent login with the various host sites.
Though some systems currently in use, as noted above, are directed to simplifying some of the more tedious mechanisms associated with commercial activity on the Internet, such systems generally do not facilitate the collection and organization of the data generated by e-commerce activity and other electronic correspondence.
With Internet activity increasing and e-commerce growing at a fantastic rate, there is a continuing and escalating need for a convenient and efficient system of organizing a user's e-receipt information. Such a system should take into account the fact that many users are presently accessing the Internet from multiple locations and multiple computer terminals or workstations, some of which may have small or limited-function key pads and lack sophisticated input devices and displays.